I go to a school in East Vancouver weekly where I spend time cooking with the students and teaching them about nutrition & healthy food choices. It’s something that I am very passionate about and look forward to doing weekly. This week however, I have been so busy that I have had no time or inspiration to think of a recipe that I could cook & teach to a class of 25. I was stressed but as soon as I stepped out of my apartment I saw these beautiful fall trees.

I was shocked- I have seen these exact trees everyday for the last month or so but have never taken the time to notice or appreciate them. They are absolutely beautiful and they gave me some much needed fall inspiration .

There is something warm, colorful & comforting about these trees. I wanted to in-cooperate this into my cooking.

Enjoy!

-romina xo

Nothing says fall like some hearty homemade chilli! I have two tricks to my homemade chilli- the first being the addition of a bayleaf. Once the chilli is simmering the bayleaf gives off this amazing pungent & savory taste. My next trick is to add a can of cambells tomato soup- yes, I know this may seem odd at first! However, it thickens the chilli up while giving it an amazing almost sweet flavor.

I’m not going to jump to any conclusions…but I think the addition of tomato soup is also Tim Hortons little secret- since this chilli tastes almost identical!

Beef & Corn Chilli w/ Minted Yogurt

Minted Yogurt

This chilli is sweet, savory and hearty. I loved it but It needed a littlesomething something. I thought a light and fresh minted yogurt paired perfectly!

½ cups greek yogurt (2%)

Small handful of fresh mint leaves

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

1 teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon lemon zest

Blend all the ingredients above together. Taste. Enjoy!

Beef&Corn Chilli

1 lb (454 g) lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp (15 mL) chili powder

1 can of condensed tomato soup ( I use Cambells but any brand will work)

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

I tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried thyme

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper

1/4 tsp (1 mL) dried oregano

1 bayleaf

1/4 tsp (1 mL) sirracha

1 can (19 oz/540 mL) black beans, drained and rinsed

½ (15 ounce) can corn kernels

2 tbsp (25 mL) minced fresh parsley

In Dutch oven, sauté beef over medium heat until no longer pink- about 4-5 minutes. Drain off fat.

Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, chili powder, cumin, thyme, salt, pepper, oregano and sirracha, fry, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. You can adjust the sirracha to your own preference depending on how spicy you like it.

Top with Minted yogurt. Serves 4.

Nutritional tip: If you are watching your weight or just wanting to make healthier food choices in general then I suggest using 1% greek yogurt instead of 2%. Also since canned tomato soup has a high sodium content I would consider substituting 1/2 cup of tomato paste instead of the 1 can of condensed tomato soup. You still get the same thick consistenty- but you will now need to add a few teaspoons of sugar if you would like it to taste the same as the original recipe.